Blog — Page 124 of 277

Thus Let Us Drink Beer – Ballistic Beer

What a time to be alive – especially if you are a hop aficionado and based on terra australis. The array of quality craft beer breweries popping up and channelling their alchemy in delicious brews seems to be never ending. Every time when I think that I have covered the premium sector of my favourite hoppy brew, i.e. India Pale Ale, another brewery appears on my radar that excites my palate.

Case in point – Ballistic Beer Co.

Based in Queensland, Ballistic Beer’s core range, i.e. lager, pale ale, IPA and European-style as well as a low-alcohol variation has been known to me as an institution whose emissions were yet to disappoint in terms of exquisite flavours – specifically when it comes to their limited hop forward expressions and with the “Sleep When You’re Dead” series having produced highlights that make me smack my lips merely thinking of them.

Needless to say that I was anticipating the new “Modern IPA” release of the Sleep When You’re Dead, which is now available for a mere eight weeks.ost of

I have had many IPAs, which were usually a constituent of a boilermaker along with a peaty Islay whisky. More often than not, the respective brews excel in one category, e.g. they are either tropical in flavour or overly hoppy.

Then there is this beauty: An example par excellence for how dankness can be calibrated with juicy highlights that rest on a solid foundation of the best of what North America has to offer in terms of hops - think a quadriga of Mosaic, Citra, Vic Secret and Chinook.

While the name might suggest that it is a novelty brew and the ABV of 7.2% might have you think that it is dominated by alcohol, the flavour profile is so nuanced that is drinks like a session ale.

I have always been a fan of Ballistic Passionfruit Brut IPA with its sweet stone fruity aromas that counterbalance the tartness of the passionfruit, which results in a body reminiscent of a citrussy, yet slightly bitter dry white wine, but the latest addition to the Sleep When You’re Dead series with this only temporarily available Modern IPA has taken things to the next level.

You got eight weeks to sample it, after which you should not despair as Ballistic Beer’s core range is sure to excite the taste buds of anyone remotely into the finer side of what beer can offer.

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image from company website

Aesthetic Theory

Think Art

Dieter Mersch

Posthumously having seen the light of day, Theodor Adornos take on what underpins the principles of art is much more than what the title suggests and it not only focusses on the core subject but expands on exploring the implications on sociology, art, politics and the realm of cognition.

The concept that artists can channel their alchemy to provide commentary on the world we live in should be nothing new and is more often than not at least a desired side effect. Yes, beauty might be after all in the art of the beholder, but Adorno’s approach gave it another dimension in that he found veracity content and a specific message in the emissions of an artists.

Dieter Mersch’s Aesthetic Theory not only explores the aforementioned but includes a wide array of essays from a range of thinkers and luminaries, which aim at dissecting the delicate and often very subtle link between aesthetic event and theory.

The tome provides food for thought by shedding light on how artistic social commentary can have a tangible impact on the general population and thereby become a cataclysm for change. One feels triggered to look below the surface, read between the lines and inspires one to try a bit harder to comprehend what the meaning of a piece of art could be attempting to communicate.

It would be difficult to make a compelling case for Adorno’s thought not having become an integral part of modern aesthetics and thereby of popular culture at large. As such, the book is indispensable as a reference when it comes to analysing human experience and what makes us tick, by not reducing the matter to sociological factors but as Adorno put it ever so eloquently – “the sedimented history of human history”, which he perceived to be the origin of all artistic endeavours.

Stiff Little Fingers

Metro Theatre

Sydney, Australia

February 21, 2020

There is a chance that I need to revisit The Clash’s early oeuvre, however, in my humble opinion Stiff Little Finger’s “Inflammable Material” is, as far as an early, snotty political punk record is concerned, a near perfect release as it had, apart from being fuelled by dissatisfaction with the status quo, more grit and urgency. This might in no small part be due to the fact that in the late seventies of Belfast, politics and Northern Ireland’s conflicts affected everyone’s life in the most tangible and often threatening way.

Fast forward forty-one years, and SLF are holding court to celebrate one of the eponymous and more important albums that have paved the way for how punk rock evolved, embedded in a melange of songs that illustrate the highlights of their other nine albums.

Whilst Stiff Little Fingers with their in-your-face bangers do not really have any hits as such, they have mastered the art of delivering their enthusiastic audience what they want and have calibrated their setlist accordingly, including banter to embed the respective salves in relevant context.

Needless to say that the evening culminated in a frenetically celebrated rendition of “Alternative Ulster”.

The evening was testament to the fact that not only the album “Inflammable material” has firmly established itself on the firmament of punk rock and alternative music at large as a timeless masterpiece and temple for a myriad of other punk bands, but that Stiff Little Fingers as band have retained relevance and are a whole lot of fun to experience in a live environment.

Thus Let Us Drink Beer - Sauce Brewing Co

Now, not sure if what originally start as a microbrewery in the inner-west of Sydney can still be classified as such, as it has evolved to one of the more prominent representatives of the local craft beer scene.

Starting out from a gypsy-style stovetop operation, Sauce is now a full production brewery that also doubles as a brewpub with an exquisite beer garden, where visitors are proffered tasting paddles and takeaways.

Claiming that Sauce Brewing is all about being “hop forward” would be an understatement par excellence, which is why specifically their IPAs have registered on my radar. Don’t get me wrong – Sauce has a strong core range ranging from pilseners via pale ales to mid-strength brews, but their India Pale Ale endeavours take things to the next level.

Let’s start off with their standard IPA, i.e. Extra-Hop Sauce, which is heavily informed by what are the merits of American West-coast IPAs: A lean-bodyness whose foundation comprised of three American hop varieties result in a fruity yet malty  tropical flavour profile that has its resinous  and bitter nuances, which add a bit of a bite.

Now, let’s step things up a bit, shall we?

I was having a nice dram of Laphroaig Quarter Cask when I first cracked a can of Sabarillo – Juicy IPA in a bid to find an appropriate equivalent for a boilermaker on a hot day. As the hybrid name suggest, this one is melange of Sabro and Amarillo hops, i.e. a double-dry-hopped juicy IPA. The coconut flavours and highlights that are reminiscent of pineapples make it difficult to not be reminded of a piña colada with an added dimension of stone fruits, however, the grainy malts that inform the foundation along with the ever present hops radiating their dank  goodness, this is one of the nicer IPAs I have recently had the pleasure of acquainting myself with.

While the name Sauce – an Australian slang term for alcohol – along with the name and graphic design of their emissions not exactly indicating outrageous creativity when it comes to nomenclature, Sauce’s beers have yet to underwhelm and I urge anyone remotely into brews to check their range out themselves.

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photo from company website

Fire Fight Australia

ANZ Stadium

Sydney, Australia

February 16, 2020

It has been thirty-five years since the eponymous Live Aid festival was organised by Bob Geldorf to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine – the impressive array of artists that participated made it one of more memorable festivals in the aeons of rock and pop.

Fast forward to 2020 with Bushfires having destroyed countless homes, claiming  lives and razing over ten million hectares of bushland, the “Live Aid Down Under”, i.e. FIRE FIGHT AUSTRALIA invoked the spirit of Live Aid in assembling international and local music icons to share one stage for Australia during its time of need to raise money for NATIONAL BUSHFIRE RELIEF in a bid to provide key organisations providing vital “Rescue”, “Relief and Recovery”, “Rehabilitation” and “Rebuilding” assistance in affected areas.

The eclectic line-up was of a calibre seldomly seen on stages on this earthround with the cream of the crop of artists currently touring terra australis, including Queen + Adam Lambert, k.d. lang, Michael Bublé, Alice Cooper and Ronan Keating alongside a diverse potpourri of Australian artists like 5 Seconds of Summer, Amy Shark, Baker Boy, Conrad Sewell, Daryl Braithwaite, Delta Goodrem, Grinspoon, Guy Sebastian, Hilltop Hoods, Icehouse, Illy, Jessica Mauboy, John Farnham, Lee Kernaghan, Olivia Newton-John, Peking Duk, Pete Murray, Tina Arena and William Barton.

More than seventy-five thousand people packed the ANZ stadium in Sydney and over one million watched from home as rock royalty Queen re-enacted for the first time what is widely considered as one of the greatest live performances of all time to a sold out Wembley Stadium in London for Live Aid. The Sydney version included Freddie Mercury making an appearance with his iconic "ay-oh" recall sequence and stage banter, which the audience frenetically engaged in. The show was my first exposure to the new singer, i.e. Adam Lambert, who delivered in spades at least as far as vocal delivery was concerned. Needless to say that Queen was more than a worthy headliner, whose performance clearly crowned the festival. Pun intended.

Witnessing Alice Cooper and his worthy constituents, i.e. his tight band with Nita Strauss in charge of lead guitar, incarnate on stage is never not an experience and today was not an exception: With a short but to the point performance, Cooper delivered a best-of set that was not only a local highlight but heralded the second half of the day with a bang.

A nice change of pace came courtesy of local hip hop stalwarts Hilltop Hoods, who seemed to feel very comfortable serenading a stadium sized audience, as well as k.d. lang, who, dressed in all white delivered a breath taking and subtle rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “hallelujah”.

The finale of this great day could not have been more Australia with John Farnham teaming up with Birri Gubba man Mitch Tambo, who shared vocal duties on “You are the voice” in Gamilaraay and a traditional, aboriginal dance.

Just when one thought things had already been dialled up to eleven, Queen guitarist Brian May joined Farnham, who was later on joined by local favourite Olivia Newton-John.

A grande festival put together in very limited time, which helped to raise close to ten million dollars for a great cause.

Click here if you’d like to donate from the US.